With my two-week residency coming to a conclusion, I have been reflecting on my practices within the classroom with deference to my formal and informal academic experiences during this time.
Stealth assessment, new in characterization but not conceptualization, is defined by Shute and Kim (2014) as a means of formative assessment which takes place through video games or immersive environments which is evidence-based with the intent of supporting learning.
I now realize that I have been completing stealth assessments, since 2008, using a variety of tools and applications from teacher constructed games such as Jeopardy, Bingo, and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire to what had been emerging polling software such as Socrative, Kahoot!, and EV Poll. Shut and Kim (2014) characterize the stealth assessment as being immersive in nature, and in my practice, it was not these educational games which provided the immersive experience but the very practice of gamification itself. I have always attempted to include games within my classroom, be it games to review content or learning by constructing games (game-based learning). However, what has been a transformation for my practice was gratifying my classroom. This involved turning the daily experience of learning into a game in which both my students and I participated.
Students created team names, banners, and even took team photos….
Everything from homework assessment/completion to class participation, to the delivery of classroom attendance, was gamified. Students, given the ability to form teams of 3-4 students, competed daily earning points for their respective teams. Each of my classes became a “league” named and classified by the students composed of distinct learning teams each with their own unique team name, mascot, leadership structure, and chant. Student’s organized tournament days (learning tournaments to earn points toward our respective league season).
As I reflect on the experience, it was the immersive nature of gamification itself that allowed me to conduct assessments within the organic practice of gamification.
Student’s did not realize they where being assessed, instead of many of the practices became a way to “earn points” for one’s team. For example, the beginning of each class involved me “checking homework” utilizing an excel file (running average of homework completion) in which I consulted with students. Student’s who completed homework earned a point for their team and for learning, not only did I have students who actively engaged themselves in completing homework (behaviorism!!!!) but I was able to informally review student answers and provided feedback in these consultations. Playing a Kahoot! Within my gamified classroom could happen at any time; a reason was not needed to play or create Kahoot’s since they were part of the very fabric of my gamified classroom.
The immersive nature of gamification allowed me to conduct multiple formative assessments in a variety of ways, allowing me to provide informal feedback and gather data to shape my classroom practice. Gamification itself “stealthified” my assessment.
This often resulted in my own science and math sections having 10-25% higher class averages than other course sections. End of year student-success meetings often resulted in me discussing and sharing best practices through a formalized presentation based professional development (PD). I found this ineffective, often advocating for team-teaching and code 83 (planning time) days allowing teachers to visit my classroom and plan assessments for use in gamification. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons (change of leadership), this did not happen and I found myself pursuing a new career in a new province.
As I reflect on stealth assessment, especially within my own practice, I know that it works. I have lived it and seen the powerful effects on both student achievement and learning. Shute and Kim (2014) state “for formative assessment to be embraced more widely there should be more support – such as through professional development – for teachers (p.318). However, I believe that such PD must itself be delivered in ways that allow teachers the time to truly reflect, understand, and apply formative assessments in ways which are meaningful to their own practice and to student learning.
References
Shute, V. J., Leighton, J. P., Jang , E. E., & Chu, M -W. (2016). Advances in the science of assessment. Educational Assessment, 21(1), 34-59. http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/10.1080/10627197.2015.1127752